Boat sales ahoy? Reports of stronger than expected sales at last week's Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show last week earned Tampa's Lazzara Yachts(photos at the show courtesy of Lazzara) a plug in the Wall Street JournalWealth blog this week. The builder of custom boats in the $4 million range registered more sales midway through the boat show than all of last year. Here's the full WSJ story. **UPDATE -- note that Rich Lazzara in the comment section below says the WSJ remark is not accurate but adds business is still pretty good this year-- Robert Trigaux/Venture blog

Yacht reps said that much of the increase yacht demand is coming from two regions; the Northeast and Middle East. “That correlates in timing with both the big bonuses about to be handed out by several Wall Street Investment banking firms at year end, and increased oil prices in the Middle East,” the WSJ article says.

Lazzara showed off its new, high-end, 92-foot LSX 92 at the show as two spokesmodels in evening wear sat on the private water terrace of the yacht sipping champagne.

"You see that smile on my face?" asks Rich Lazzara (see photo) in an enthusiastic video blog report from the boat show. The boat company sold four boats, and possibly two more, "The show was one of the best we've ever had," Lazzara says. "I'm not ready to say we are back where we've been," he added but Lazzara's well on its way.

This is the same Rich Lazzara recently quoted in Success magazine urging people that, to be a successful entrepreneur, "think like a child." And the same Rich whose own Web site is aimed at "Generation Next Entrepreneurs."

The boat show is one of the largest luxury boat shows in the U.S. each year with over 600 vessels from 25 to 214 feet in length docked along a mile-long intercoastal front pier that displayed over $3 billion worth of luxury yachts currently for sale.

Quite a different spin from the glum reports in recent years from the big South Florida boat shows.

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Tampa Bay business news and insights are brought to you each day by business columnist Robert Trigaux and his fellow business writers. Venture provides an inside look at Tampa Bay companies as well as events, people, deal, triumphs and failures across the Tampa Bay economy.